Dale E. Simmons Sr. makes the sixth candidate to file for the New Bern mayoral post.

Simmons, 57, of 1722 Washington St., New Bern, filed last Wednesday at the Craven County Board of Elections. Election filing closes at noon Friday.

This will be Simmons’ first run for public office. He decided to run to get people more involved in the city, its growth and potential, he said.

“I wanted to see if I couldn’t get some stability back to the board and back to the system,” Simmons said. “I want the citizens of New Bern to be more aware of the things taking place within the city. I think there is a disconnection with the city and citizens of New Bern. It is time to do things a little differently than what we have in the past.”

If elected, Simmons said he would also try to get the sewer system corrected citywide to improve road conditions and stop flooding.

“Flooding has devastated a lot of our businesses and homes and properties,” he said.

But Simmons, who is against raising taxes, said his focal point would be to get citizens more involved in city government. He said he would “give the people more of a voice, and open-door policy.

“I want them to be more aware and a little more connected with things like the budget,” he said. “The citizens should be aware of the things that are going on. That is my goal, to try to get better communications with the city and the citizens.”

Simmons said that as a life-long resident of New Bern, he was aware of what the city has gone through and what it could become.

“I’ve been around for the good and the bad,” he said. “Right now, I feel we are at a pretty good state, if we can just start getting a little better at communicating.”

Simmons said he also wanted to cut back on restrictions that hamper jobs in New Bern.

“We need to put ourselves back at being a competitive city,” he said. “I go back when we had city buses and all kinds of businesses throughout the city. Now it has been made so hard for businesses to come into New Bern. We need to look at ways …of allowing outside business to come in.”

Simmons is currently a facility maintenance/coordinator specialist with the Fleet Readiness Center East. He has worked for FRC East for 30 years.

Eddie Fitzgerald can be reached at 252-635-5675 or at eddie.fitzgerald@newbernsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @staffwriter3.